Tending To Your Marriage {Building Marriage}

“The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s greener where you water it.”

Isn’t it beautiful to see a garden grow?

You take time to prepare the soil with nutrients. The winter-hardened ground is tilled up to create a soft place for the seeds to land.

The perfect seed varieties are chosen. Your favorite green beans, the tenderest peas, and whatever tomato variety the Bennett’s Nursery guy recommends. You will convince your tomato plants to survive this year.

You go out on the most perfect spring Saturday, gardening tools in hand, to plant your seedlings into the sun-kissed soil. A thirst-quenching sprinkle of water later, and your garden is ready to go.

But then comes the work! The tending. The watering part, the weeding part, and chasing off little Peter Rabbit. As the little plants start to grow, so do your dreams of summer time BLTs and freshly fried okra.

It’s only after weeks of carefully caring for your garden that you can enjoy the fruit. And even then – the tending isn’t over yet! Watering, weeding, and Peter Rabbit aren’t a one-and-done deal. For as long as you want to enjoy the produce, you need to care for the garden.

Isn’t marriage kind of like that, too? The preparation, the happy day, the weeding and watering, and enjoying the fruits. But what happens if you stop giving it the care it needs? It’s like coming back from vacation to a very sad looking garden in desperate need of water and weeding.

Marriage takes constant care and effort. Weeds pop up surprisingly quickly, and their favorite spot is always a place you’re not really looking. Their roots make their way down to the deepest part of the soil if you’re not quick.

You know those weeds that look small – until you try to pull them up? You discover an entire weedy root system hiding beneath your garden that’s almost impossible to get rid of without drastic measures. Don’t let those kind of weeds slip into your marriage. Don’t let things grow beneath the surface so long that you wake up one day to a weed-filled relationship.

What kind of weeds are we talking about? I think the most dangerous weeds are the ones of the heart. The ones who don’t make their appearance obvious to an outside observer. Things like distrust, lust, secrets, discontent. Every relationship is different, but you’ll know what the weeds are in  yours.

It’s easy to to a little distracted by the greener grass somewhere else or to ignore the weeds that are growing. Just like a garden, though, your marriage is greener when it’s tended to. And the sweet and joyful fruit of a happy marriage is truly a blessing from God!

Here’s to building stronger marriages!

*hugs*

Amber